So does apparently eccentric matron Sarah Padden, the spinster matriarch of a greedy family who wants to put her in a nut house so they can get their grungy hands on her fortune of $3 million. She invites them all to spend a week in her mountaintop mansion where you know what starts to happen. You've seen this all before, but right from the beginning, this film's tongue is so far into its cheek that the laughter starts rolling as soon as the old dear takes the stand in her defense. Padden is adorable, insulting her family and outlandishly insufferable in-laws (which includes Minerva Urecal, the "poor man's" Marjorie Main) and even columnist Wallace Ford whom she admits to that she reads his column but didn't reveal it on the stand because it might hurt her case.
While this plot line has been overdone (often very predictably), it has never been done so fun, and you can see elements of later comedies with the same theme ("Murder By Death" and "Clue") in its short 64 minute running time. A film so much fun deserves a higher rating because the laugh quotient is greater than normal. To say more would spoil the delights.
While this plot line has been overdone (often very predictably), it has never been done so fun, and you can see elements of later comedies with the same theme ("Murder By Death" and "Clue") in its short 64 minute running time. A film so much fun deserves a higher rating because the laugh quotient is greater than normal. To say more would spoil the delights.